Vicissitude
by BlackInkStains
Summary: In order to find a supernatural murderer in the aftermath of one of many unusual deaths, Ciel goes on a hunt with a demon that isn't his to control. Sebastian has his own reasons to find the killer, but his interests soon begin to change... Modern AU. Sebastian/Ciel
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello, everybody! It's been a while but I'm back with another multichaptered fic. This one is another modern AU, with demons and reapers, though you may find some characters that are human in canon be of another species in this fic. Also some reapers are humans and completely not related to the Dispatch Society in any way.

Updates should come regularly, at least for a while. I've got a bunch of chapters ready.

**Rating:** M for violence, mainly.

**Overall warnings:** Guys, you know me. Violence, character death, blood, one or the other psychological issue. Additional warnings will be mentioned in the according chapters.

**Genre:** Supernatural (duh, there's demons and witches), Suspense, Humour, Drama, some horror maybe. Also Friendship and stuff like that. While this is in no way going to be romantic, let me just add that there will be people getting together "romantically."

**Pairings:** SebaCiel. There will be no other pairings involving either of these two but SebaCiel. Additional pairings don't seem to be happening yet, but maybe they'll come up later.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, Kuro's not mine in any shape or form. It belongs to Yana Toboso and I'm just borrowing her characters for this plot.

**Extra:** While I am imagining Ciel to be a few years older in here than in the manga, I will never mention his age. Those of you that prefer him to be of canon age can happily picture him that way.

Beta credit goes to the wonderful Carrie2sky! Now I'm done. Enjoy!

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**PROLOGUE**

It began when Ciel's father entered his room one night, eyes weary and his posture slumped. Ciel looked up from his textbook – it was about economics, very informative yet mildly boring, but as the future heir, what else could Ciel do but to know as much as he humanly could? – and waited for his father to speak.

Vincent Phantomhive did not immediately begin. Instead he took a long look around Ciel's tidy room, barely seeing, and then sat down by the end of Ciel's bed without a word of warning. He was holding a file in one hand, and brushed the fingers of his free hand through his hair. Ciel closed his book carefully and set it aside.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" he asked carefully from where he was sitting by his desk, seeing that his father was in deep thought.

Vincent shook his head but said, "Yes," and Ciel knew that something was very wrong indeed. The Phantomhive patriarch was still immaculately dressed at this hour of night, as if he was about to leave the house for an important meeting. He seemed to steel himself and then got up to cross the room and hand Ciel the file. It was very heavy. "This is information about the company, its branches and workers and your mother's and my will. It is all kept short, but you should find more information on the company on my server and the notary is-"

"Your will?" Ciel repeated.

Vincent paused. "Yes," he said slowly. "The last section would be our testaments. Is that a problem?"

"You aren't dead, for one," Ciel replied.

"Well, always good to know what you won't inherit should you act out, am I right?" Vincent grinned and messed up Ciel's hair. "Don't do drugs, don't do orgies, don't kill people, you understand, young man?" The boy ducked away under his hand with a scowl. Vincent gave him a warm smile. "Do be careful, my son. People are dying like flies these days."

"So I've heard," Ciel said carefully. Seeing that his father was waiting for something, he sighed. "Yes, father, I shall be careful."

That seemed to satisfy Vincent. He let his hand drop to his side and then left the room.

After eyeing the file for a long time Ciel lifted a hand to touch it, but then decided against it. Instead he got up, left the file lying on his desk, and got ready for bed.

**OOO**

The next morning, Vincent and his wife Rachel Phantomhive were found in their bed, covered in roses, their skin pallid and interrupted by dark veins, their eyes white and lifeless.

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_So, that was the prologue. Hope you enjoyed it even though it was pretty short. Let me know what you think! The next chapter should follow soon enough!_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **So, we've seen that Sieglinde is able to be serious, but we haven't seen it too often on her, _but_ we know that she _can_ be serious, right? Right. The thing is, she cannot walk around in this fic with eyes full of wonder at this marvellous new world because, hey, she knows it already. She didn't grow up in isolation. So this Sieglinde will be more serious than in the manga. I'll try to stay as true to the original as possible, but putting a character in different surroundings tends to make them different…

Anyway, I'm rambling. Sebastian's entering the scene, too. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 1**

The funeral was a quiet and private affair. Ciel's friends, aunt and her family attended as well as the Phantomhive staff and Uncle Klaus, Vincent's friends (one of which called himself _Undertaker_ of all things; the other one was a grumpy German named Diedrich), a friend of Rachel's who was an opera singer, and – lo and behold - the Viscount of Druitt also showed up. Ciel guessed it was because Aleister Chambers had to check if Ciel's parents really were dead. While he did burst out into crocodile tears upon seeing them, he didn't make much of a scene.

There was a Chinese man lurking around at the far back during the eulogy, but Ciel had never seen him. He looked like he had the right to be here, though, so he must have been a business partner of some sort.

But a girl around Ciel's age didn't look like she had any reason to be here. She couldn't sit still, eyes wide and alert, and whenever Ciel looked at her, she would catch his gaze without fail. She would then proceed to stare at him until he looked away.

Next to her sat a raven-haired man dressed in what Ciel thought to be an old-fashioned butler uniform. The Phantomhive butler, Tanaka, wore three-piece suits in that style, he even had a pocket watch, too. The raven-haired stranger didn't look at Ciel once. Instead he sat ramrod straight on the church bench, as if he didn't quite want to be here, and stared intently at the caskets that held Ciel's parents.

After they had lowered the caskets into the ground of the Phantomhive estate, Ciel waited by the front door to say goodbye to those that wouldn't stay at the manor with him. His aunt Frances stood next to him, smiling faintly when others smiled at her first. The Viscount practically stormed toward them, right into a confused Frances' arms, and heaved a great sob that united all of humanity's pain in it. Frances shot Ciel a discreet look, but Ciel was too busy being relieved that Chambers had not hugged him.

"I feel or you!" the Viscount said. He leaned back, keeping Frances at arm length. "First the wonderful Madame Red and now Rachel and Vincent. It must be horrible!"

"Indeed it is," Frances said, sounding tense. "Thank you for your condolences."

"Didn't you lose someone, too?" Diedrich came up to them, chewing rather noisily on a piece of chewing gum. "Your nephew, right? I was in India that time."

"Yes," Aleister said, heaving another sob. He took the handkerchief offered by Diedrich and patted his eyes. "Edgar and his friends went from us last month."

"That's…." Diedrich searched for the right word. "Recent."

Ciel remembered the funeral. It had been quite dramatic.

"Anyway," the Viscount said, "Vincent and I may had our differences, but knowing he's gone is still a painful thought."

Ciel was pretty sure that the Viscount had been on watch because he'd been up to shady activities. But his father had deemed him too young to know the specifics back then. Now Ciel might never find out. But he wasn't quite ready to believe Aleister when he claimed that he was actually mourning the Phantomhive family's loss. "Thank you," he said nevertheless and shook the Viscount's hand with a small smile.

"Weird guy," Diedrich murmured, hands in his pockets, watching as Aleister got into his car teary-eyed and urged the driver to start the car. Frances didn't acknowledge the comment, so neither did Ciel.

The sky was grey, but it wasn't raining yet.

"Excuse me," said a high voice, and Ciel turned to look at the black-haired girl that had been staring at him in the church. Her butler was right behind her. Ciel blinked several times but still the man's eyes remained wine red.

"My name is Sieglinde Sullivan," the girl said. Ciel realized she was talking to him, so he focused on her. "I believe we haven't met yet."

He shook the proffered hand. "We haven't. Nice to meet you."

"Sieglinde," Frances said. "I don't think I saw your parents around."

"One of them is in Asia at the moment," Sieglinde said, shuffling her tiny feet. "The other one is in the US. But my butler Sebastian keeps me company. To think one of my parents would have taken him with them!"

The butler – Sebastian – merely bowed a little, but said nothing.

"It is very nice of you to come," Frances said, actually looking touched.

Sieglinde curtsied prettily. "How could I not? You must all be in terrible grief."

"You're German?" was all that Diedrich had to interrupt with. Frances' expression grew closed in less than a second.

Sieglinde nodded as she looked up. "You too?"

Diedrich made an affirmative sound, narrowing his eyes at her a little. She narrowed them, too. Ciel wondered if that was a German thing.

"The mistress would like to speak to you," the butler finally said when Sieglinde and Diedrich appeared to have a staring contest going on, "in private."

Sieglinde looked away from Diedrich. "Yes. I apologise, but it is indeed rather urgent."

"If it has to do with business," Frances said, "then I should be the one you'll want to talk to. Ciel won't take his father's position until he comes of age."

"It's nothing of the sort." Sieglinde looked at Ciel expectantly.

Before he could lead her away, Aunt Frances grabbed him by the upper arm, startling him (even though he hoped nobody had seen that). "Whatever it is," she said in a low voice as she pulled him around the corner and bent down a little, "be nice to her. I heard she doesn't venture outside a lot. Her parents are successful business people and it can have repercussions if you mouth off to her."

Ciel blinked slowly. "You think little of me, dear aunt."

"I _think_ you're grieving," Frances sniffed. "Many people do things they haven't quite thought through when they're in grief."

She let go of his arm and after not-so-subtly rubbing it (Frances had more strength than should be allowed), Ciel led Sieglinde and Sebastian into an empty room. It was his father's study, as he realized way too late. Not wanting to turn around and find another room, he took a seat behind the desk, motioning at the empty chair in front of it. Sieglinde sat down, kicking up her legs, and Sebastian remained behind her right shoulder.

"What is it you want to talk about?" Ciel asked when he felt that Sieglinde wasn't about to say anything – instead she looked at him contemplatively, as if trying to find the right words just for him.

"It is about the murder of your parents," her butler said, and Sieglinde narrowed her eyes.

"Sebastian," she hissed. Said man pursed his lips unhappily.

"You should keep your butler in check," Ciel drawled, trying to keep the unease from his voice. Sebastian shot him a faintly annoyed look. Now, that definitely wasn't polite.

"I apologise on Sebastian's behalf," Sieglinde said. "This is a personal matter for him, he's impatient."

Ciel's eyebrows shot up. "_Personal_? The death of my parents is personal to _you_?" He leaned back in his seat. "Pray tell, why would you say that?"

"He knows the -…"

"One moment, please." Sebastian stepped forward, around the desk and snuck his hand under the table where Ciel was sitting. The boy jumped back in surprise, but Sebastian retracted his hand quickly. He smelled of absolutely nothing, Ciel noticed with no small amount of bewilderment. A soft crushing noise came from the butler's closed fist. He then proceeded to walk to one of the potted plants by the door. Another crushing sound. The second bookshelf from the right out of a row that covered the whole left wall of the room. Another small potted plant by the windowsill.

"I had to take care of the bugs first," the butler said brightly upon returning to Sieglinde's side.

"Bugs," she repeated slowly. "That is very nice of you. But I don't recall ordering you to find them."

"I did it in your best interest, Mistress Sullivan," Sebastian said. "It is in my duty to serve you well."

Sieglinde raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "In _your_ best interest, that's what you meant. Everything is."

Ciel was currently otherwise preoccupied. Why had his father kept bugs in this room? Surely he'd been aware of them? He'd think about it later. Right now Sieglinde and her butler needed his attention. He'd never seen anyone bicker with their butler with so much… ill-concealed hostility. "What is it you wanted to say before the interruption?"

The two of them turned their gazes to Ciel. The butler's was more piercing than the girl's, and Ciel found himself narrowing his eyes at the man. There was something about him that Ciel couldn't quite place.

"Sebastian knows the murderer," Sieglinde then said, and Ciel's eyes briefly snapped to her before they went back to the butler in alarm. "He's been trying to find him for a while now..."

"I don't want to hear it from you," Ciel cut in harshly. "I want to hear it from your butler. And you better give me a reason not to call the police on you."

After a nod from Sieglinde, Sebastian straightened his jacket and took a step forward so that he was standing right next to the girl. "The murderer is possibly named Claude Faustus. I say possibly because he changes names and his face. He may not even be in England anymore."

"How do you know this for certain?" Ciel asked. He would call detective inspector Abberline after this talk in case anything useful came out of the butler's mouth. The police had found nothing so far, only that the white eyes and the veins have been on other victims in the last month, too. They assumed this to be the making of a serial killer, or a group working together. If they found one, they'd find the rest. The only problem here was that this group was _very_ good at hiding. They also were very good at getting into places they should never have gotten into, like the Phantomhive estate. In any case, even the slightest bit of a hint could help, so Ciel was obliged to listen to what Sebastian had to say. It was the least he could do.

"The victims of his kind look similar in death, for one," Sebastian said. Ciel could already tell that this man was someone who chose his words carefully. He didn't know either of these two, so how could he trust them? What if they were more involved than they let on? It was nice and well that Aunt Frances had a good relationship with Sieglinde's parents, but that didn't mean the girl was in any way trustworthy. To be honest, the level of trustworthiness was sinking with every word that came out of her butler's mouth.

"His kind?" Ciel questioned.

"They leave tracks that can be seen by people powerful enough," Sebastian went on. "We managed to find Claude's location the day before your parents died. He was in this noble establishment of yours."

Ciel snorted. Faintly. "And how would you find out something like that?"

"Well…" Sieglinde and Sebastian shared a long look. She seemed a little worried but his expression was unreadable. "I am a rather powerful witch. I can track demons in ways that they cannot."

Already his patience had been worn short. But Ciel remembered his aunt's words and counted to ten in his head. "A witch, you say," he muttered. "If I had known you were going to waste my time, I wouldn't have agreed to talk to you in private. I have family waiting for me."

"We are serious," Sebastian said quietly. Ciel could tell that he was faintly annoyed. Who'd given _him_ the right? "The young lady is a witch. I am a demon as is Claude Faustus. We exist."

"Demons usually form contracts with humans," Sieglinde said. "Both of us bear signs of those contracts." She turned so that Ciel could see the skin behind her left ear. Indeed there was a black circle that looked riddled with many occultist signs. Sebastian took off one white glove in order to show Ciel the same tattoo in a larger scale on the back of his hand.

"Two similar tattoos are not going to make me believe you," Ciel said, noticing the sharpness in his voice. "I will no longer tolerate this farce. Please leave my house. Do not contact me again. I don't want to hear about your delusions."

Sieglinde, looking scandalized, opened her mouth to say something, but Sebastian touched her shoulder and led her to the door. "We apologize for upsetting you, Lord Phantomhive. We understand that it is a hard time for you, but there was no other way to approach you about this." He took a card from the inside pocket of his jacket and crossed the room to place it on Ciel's desk. The boy followed every single controlled movement up to where the butler not-so-subtly slid the card closer to Ciel. All that Ciel did in reply was to lean back in his seat, his gaze cold and his mouth a hard line. The butler didn't look any happier than him.

"While you may not wish for us to contact you, you may always contact us," Sebastian said. "I understand that our confession might have come sudden, but if you are willing to believe us, I am sure we can help you find the murderer."

"Leave," Ciel said tersely, "before I call the police."

Sebastian bowed, Sieglinde curtsied, and they left. Ciel remained in his father's study – which was now his, he assumed – and stared after them until they were long gone. He then put his head in his hands and put his elbows on the table, leaning over the smooth wooden surface. His gaze touched the rectangular card lying underneath him. Ciel studied the number on it for a long time. Despite the tension in their interactions, those two were friends when it came to their madness. Who had infested the other with it first, Ciel wondered.

After what must have been several minutes Ciel got up from his chair. His relatives were waiting for him, and he didn't want to disappoint.

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_Thanks for the comments on the prologue. This time you get a proper chapter! Don't forget to tell me what you think!_

_Also, updates should come Mondays or Tuesdays starting not tomorrow, but next week. See you in the next chapter._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So, more insight to Sebastian's current situation. I personally think that Sieglinde, being a witch, would see use in Sebastian in ways that Ciel wouldn't since he's no witch.

And many thanks to Carrie, who is a wonderful beta! :)

**CHAPTER 2**

The young lady was fuming. Puffing her cheeks, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she sat in the car's backseat, staring out the window. Sebastian watched her in the rear view mirror as he drove her back to the house. Driving hadn't taken him long to master, and as they always were out on rather shady businesses – rituals, magic practice, securing the lady's territory – it was better if there were less people involved.

"My lady, if I may say so, doing that makes you look rather childish," Sebastian said, entering central London. As expected, traffic was awful, the weather was awful, and school children crossed the street where no traffic lights were in sight. Simply awful.

"I don't care," Sieglinde said archly. "Why would he not believe us?"

"The Phantomhive boy?" Sebastian's eyebrows shot up and he barely refrained himself from saying 'Are you _serious_?' "You don't honestly believe that anyone these days would believe you just because they saw the contract mark. Maybe he thinks we're from some sect. Maybe he'll call the police on you."

"On _us_," Sieglinde corrected. "_Us_, because you're in this, too. It's because of you that I approached Ciel in the first place."

"And I appreciate that," Sebastian said automatically.

"No, you don't," Sieglinde countered with a sigh.

No, he didn't. It was part of their agreement, so he was taking it for granted and she knew it, too. But just because they were both aware of this fact didn't mean that he should state it. "We cannot give up," he said instead. "We need access to where the bodies were found while the trail is still fresh."

"It's already two weeks old," Sieglinde said, frowning at Sebastian via the rear view mirror. "It's a matter of days until the trail is too faint to detect."

"Then, if I may speak freely, we'll have to get there before the it is too weak."

"I don't think I'll be allowed into Ciel's house anytime soon." Sieglinde rested her forehead against the window. Sebastian wanted to tell her that this would leave prints on the glass.

"Then let us hope that he contacts us quickly enough," he muttered. He knew that Sieglinde wouldn't be up to violating any laws, so breaking in was a thought she wouldn't even briefly entertain.

Upon arriving at the house in Belgravia, the maids opened the door and positioned themselves in the doorway. Hilde and Grete greeted the girl with stoic expressions, but Anne smiled, albeit a little nervously. Sieglinde waited until Sebastian had parked the car, leaving the lightly dressed women to freeze in the awful weather at first, but once she spotted Sebastian returning, she shooed the maids inside, worrying about them catching a cold.

"How was your trip, young lady?" Anne asked pleasantly as she took off Sieglinde's coat and hung it.

"Unsatisfying," the girl grumbled. "Ciel Phantomhive now thinks my butler and I got ourselves similar tattoos."

The corners of Anne's mouth twitched in hesitant amusement. Grete frowned, but as always Hilde had the strongest reaction. "Well, he should have backed you up better, if that is what you left the Phantomhive boy believing. It is in his interest, too, isn't it?" She turned to Sebastian, narrowing her eyes. "_Isn't it_?"

Being a demon, Sebastian had seen and met his fair share of scary or even frightening things and people. However, since Hilde, angry German women like her ranked so high on this list that it surprised even Sebastian himself. He backed away from her, keeping his expression polite. "Yes, of course. "

"You made the young lady go through this trouble for you and managed to come out empty-handed?" Hilde went on. Sieglinde didn't even bat an eyelash at the woman's outburst. Sebastian immediately knew she wasn't going to help him here. Instead she looked at her nails and then showed them to Grete who inspected them before telling her something in German. Sebastian couldn't quite pick up what it was because Hilde wasn't done with him.

"The young Earl didn't seem in the right state of mind to witness proper proof," he told her. "Even if Mistress Sullivan had cast a sell or if I had shown him that I truly am a demon, his reaction to that could have been less than favourable."

"I don't believe a single word coming out of your demon mouth," Hilde said. She whirled around, her perfume invading his senses. It was a stern and mature scent, and Sebastian had quickly learned to change directions whenever it filled the air.

"Hilde, dear, leave it be," Sieglinde finally said. "It is Sebastian's problem, not ours. I believe Ciel would have thrown us out anyway. It was the wrong moment to reveal ourselves. Besides," she added as an afterthought, "Sebastian cannot lie to us."

"He damn well can," Hilde spat. Sieglinde most likely let it go because the insult wasn't directed at her. Then again Sieglinde always went easy on everyone, even on Sebastian despite her mistrust in him. To be fair, the whole staff usually exceeded at their assigned tasks, so Sieglinde never had any reason to be cross with any of them.

Except…

"Where is Wolfram?" the girl asked, perfectly in time with Sebastian thoughts. The demon wondered if she had somehow read them. He wouldn't put it beyond her.

"Sulking," Hilde said, pursing her lips.

"Still?" Sieglinde looked at the general direction of the kitchen (hidden behind several doors) and then at Sebastian. "He's really serious about his sulking."

"Every day for at least two hours," Hilde informed the girl. "Especially when the demon gets to wake you up in the mornings or bakes you something."

Sieglinde brought a hand to her forehead. "This is no contest. And it's not like Sebastian is going to stay forever."

That was the wrong thing to say. Three pairs of eyes snapped to Sebastian. Even Anne seemed angry. Sebastian barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. One of the things Sieglinde had contracted him for was the protection of her life. After having met her household staff, though, Sebastian had at first wondered why she'd need him when she had vicious beasts like the people living here, ready to rip anything apart that looked at Sieglinde the wrong way. While he received an answer to this question soon after, he still found himself wondering about that at times. "Your mistress' actions are her own. She knew I was going to be her death before she agreed to the contract's conditions. It is her business, not yours."

They played this game from time to time. Many accusations would fall, and Sebastian would ultimately remind them that he wasn't here because he'd forced Sieglinde into a contract, but because she'd called him, knowing very well what she was going to sacrifice for this. As a result, Hilde, Grete, Anne, and Wolfram – when he wasn't busy sulking – would tolerate him until the whole discussion began anew. But a year had passed since he had first set foot into the house, and Sebastian noticed how the hostility gradually faded. It wasn't nearly as strong these days as it had been a year ago. Sebastian was glad about that. He'd been on the verge of killing all of them back then, Hilde first. Things like that didn't leave a good impression with the contracted.

Sieglinde decided to leave Wolfram to his sulking as long as he got around cooking sometime soon ("And he better add a Black Forest Cake to that!"), and went upstairs, her maids following her. She motioned for Sebastian to come, too, and the demon already guessed what she needed him for. Climbing up the stairs he took of his gloves and his jacket, which he folded and put on the bed upon entering Sieglinde's room. The girl sat down by the vanity, Hilde undid and brushed her hair while Anne was presented a ridiculously large collection of nail polish to her. Sieglinde took in the variety with big eyes and then selected something that glittered rather obnoxiously.

Grete made him sit on a chair not too close to the women crowding the girl. She brandished a pair of scissors big enough to chop off a finger. Sebastian dearly hoped that she didn't plan on doing that. "What will we need, Mistress Sullivan?"

Sieglinde glanced at the demon briefly before watching Anne filing her nails. "Saliva, a fang, some skin. I never got to see what his hair does when used in potions, so I'd like you to cut off a few strands. How do you feel about a blood sample, Sebastian?"

"I bleed a lot," Sebastian said easily.

"Then fetch a vial for a blood sample, Grete. Oh, and if he feels like it, ask him for some tears."

"Tears?" Sebastian repeated, trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

Sieglinde grinned widely. "I found out something truly awesome! When your tears are used in a potion, one is able to see in the dark!"

"You don't need these kinds of potions these days, my lady," Anne said after a moment of hesitance. "Everything is lit at night."

"Besides, aren't those potions highly toxic?" Hilde asked disapprovingly as she parted the girl's hair into several sections. "We are talking about things coming from a demon. I'm not sure if you should ingest skin tissue and pulverized fangs, even if it is for research's sake."

"Well," the girl said cheerfully, "these potions are still enhancing in their character, and having a demon willing to give you samples is an opportunity you don't want to let slide." She watched as Grete placed a cotton pad in Sebastian's mouth and cut a few strands of hair. She made a surprised sound when she saw it growing back at once. Grete then removed the cotton pad and put it in a plastic cup. She considered Sebastian for a long moment. He told her that he could remove a fang by himself (lest she pull the fang, and that wasn't only time-consuming, but also highly annoying), so she grabbed a knife and pushed up Sebastian's shirt.

"I must say," he began, once he'd spat out his fang, already feeling a new one replacing it, "nobody has ever used me as a live pantry."

Sieglinde blinked slowly. When it came to Sebastian, she always thought twice before speaking. It was something that he'd never seen her do with the other witches or Wolfram. "I hope you don't feel… humiliated?"

Sebastian smirked. "If I had a sense of shame, I might." Grete peeled off a strip of skin from his lower arm, but Sebastian ignored the uncomfortable sensation as best as he could. He also didn't look down, because he was sure that Grete hadn't managed to spare his dress shirt. "I am happy to help you with your studies, my lady. Besides, I agreed to this, did I not?"

The girl nodded. "That's true." Hilde braided sections of her hair and pinned it all up into something very becoming, and Anne finished painting the last nail. "How do you want to proceed?"

He knew exactly what she was talking about. "I suggest we wait a few days, but not too long. If Ciel doesn't contact us by then we will either have to knock on his door or set foot in that bedroom without his permission. There is no other way. I apologize." He felt a tug in his veins that told him that blood was being taken from him. His shirt must be a mess.

Sieglinde looked uneasy, but she didn't say a word about waiting for Claude's next trail if Ciel didn't let them into the house. It was a beginning, and Sebastian was sure that she wouldn't have been so silent about it a few months ago. When Anne and Hilde released her, she took a small vial from a drawer in her vanity and got up, approaching him. Sebastian could still feel the blood leaving him. How much was Grete taking, anyway?

Sieglinde held the vial under his eye. He looked up at her, then back at the hand that held the vial. "I might just be too proud for that."

"You've given me a tear before," Sieglinde pouted, as if that was reason enough. They had been in the same situation, Sieglinde being too curious for her own good and demanding a tear. Sebastian had indulged her back then, not actually thinking that anything could be brewed with his tears. Nothing about him was poisonous on its own, but it seemed that if you mixed it with the right ingredients, they could wreak havoc.

After a moment of silence (in which Grete finally finished drawing his blood) he forced tears into his eyes, letting them run down his face, holding Sieglinde's gaze. The girl broke the contact in order to catch the drops in the vial and then closed it. "Thank you very much," she said. And smiled.

Sebastian felt the tracks dry on his skin. He looked down at his bloody dress shirt. Grete was filling the blood into little bottles. She must have taken more than a pint.

He unbuttoned his shirt as he left the room, leaving his gloves and coat there. Once he arrived in his own room he heard the doorbell ring. He couldn't possibly answer the door without a shirt on, and frankly didn't feel like being nice and sociable just now, so he first went to his closet and picked out a fresh dress shirt, a tie, a jacket and a pair of gloves. He dressed quickly in case he was needed, and, sure enough, Sieglinde knocked on the door as he was slipping on his gloves. "It's the police. They're asking for you."

"So Ciel did call them," Sebastian mused, suppressing a sigh.

The girl nodded. "Deal with them. I don't want them poking around."

Sebastian checked himself in the mirror before nodding. "Neither do I."

* * *

_So, how did you like this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it, because I found it intereting to write Sebastian in this contract and away from Ciel. Don't forget to tell me what you think!_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Posting a new chapter becuase I felt like it. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 3**

Detective Inspector Abberline returned without news. "We couldn't get anything out of the man," he said. "He doesn't know anything. Just the name."

Oh, Sebastian Michaelis knew plenty. If Ciel had had his doubts before, he was sure now. Why else would the man lie? The investigation wasn't going anywhere. The people who had killed Ciel's parents were still out there. This Claude Faustus was, too. They were out there, murdering other people. Who said they wouldn't come back for Ciel eventually?

"Then try again," Ciel said, maybe a little too vehemently. They were sitting in Vincent's old study. Ciel had opened all the windows, letting cold air come in to wash away the lingering scent of Vincent's cologne. Only once the old ghosts of this room were purged would Ciel be able to call it his.

"He will remain a suspect," Abberline said in an appeasing manner that did not appease Ciel _at all_, "but we don't have anything against him. We have a name now, but nothing more. And it is a name that might not be valid anymore."

"Don't you think it's suspicious that he had a name to begin with?" Ciel questioned. "Why won't you look at him more thoroughly? What if he belongs to that group?"

Abberline sighed and got up from his seat. "I understand that you are going through a rough phase," he began, and if Ciel could he would shut the man up. "Grief is always hard on us. But let me do my investigation. I will keep an eye on Mr. Michaelis, and if we find out anything I will let you know."

The boy pursed his lips tightly before nodding. "I thank you for your efforts. My butler will see you to the door."

Abberline gave him a small smile and left.

Ciel stared at the closed door, trying to calm down. Yes, Sebastian had claimed that he and Claude were demons, but demons didn't exist. What if it was code for something? Obviously there had to be some sort of gang, seeing that the Sullivan girl and Sebastian bore the same tattoos.

Ciel opened a desk drawer. It was empty except for one off-white card bearing a series of handwritten numbers and nothing more.

Crazy gang members or not – Sebastian knew something and didn't want to share it with the police. He had seemed ready to share it with Ciel, though. The boy took the card into one hand. He had made his decision.

OOO

It was funny how the only place where he could have his peace at was school – the place he found the most annoying. Not because he had to learn something, but because of the pupils. The whole lot of them were whiny, self-centred and not particularly bright. Ciel had enjoyed a private education until secondary school and while he didn't have a long way to go until his A Levels, he found himself loathing this place more and more with each passing day.

He didn't have enough privacy at home because Frances had promptly decided to stay for the next few weeks, until she could be sure that the "worst of Ciel's grief had passed" since Ciel had refused to go live with the Midfords at that time, but the problem now was that half of the Midfords were now at Phantomhive Manor; his cousin Elizabeth had also decided that she wanted to support Ciel. This had led to him being watched more often than he liked, for not only his relatives, but the whole household staff were worried about him.

He was outside at the moment, behind the school, hiding from his friends. How he had managed to befriend them was – honestly – still a wonder to him. He only met one of them, Finny, through Elizabeth. The rest of the lot he'd found all on his own.

He looked around to make sure that nobody was racing towards him and then took out his mobile phone. He had already saved the number in his contact list, so he selected it and waited for the line to ring.

Surprisingly enough, somebody answered the phone in no time. The voice belonged to a woman, though. _"Hello, this is the Sullivan residence."_

"This is Ciel Phantomhive. I'd like to speak to Sebastian Michaelis… is he in?"

The woman grumbled something in another language that couldn't possibly be flattering and asked him to hold on for a moment. A few seconds later the phone was picked up again. _"Lord Phantomhive,"_ purred a familiar male voice, _"how are you today?"_

Ciel's throat went dry. A shiver ran down his spine. Was it even allowed to answer the phone in such a manner? Everything he'd wanted to say was forgotten. "Uh. Fine. Uhm."

"_Is this about our last meeting?"_ Sebastian helpfully supplied.

The boy gathered his wits and looked around. Still no signs of his friends. He had to make this quick. "Yes, actually. I'd like you to come to my house one of these afternoons. We need to talk."

"_Certainly. It pleases me that you are willing to entertain the idea-…"_

"I am not entertaining any ideas at all," Ciel said. "You know something and I want to hear what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. I do not care about your code."

"…_Code?"_

Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose. The man on the other side of the line sounded honestly confused. Maybe he should brood over his theories some more. "Please relay this message to Sieglinde. You may pick any day you like."

Someone was calling his name from a distance. Ciel whipped his head around, and saw that the voice belonged to Soma. He then motioned at somebody and the whole horde came into view. Without waiting to hear what the butler said next Ciel ended the call. The last thing he wanted was his friends' noisiness.

"Ciel?" Elizabeth hurried to him. If she saw him taking a few steps back, she ignored it in favour of wrapping her arms around him. While she appeared petite and cute, she had a strength in her arms that only few could top. Ciel just wanted to flee. "Break's almost over and I haven't seen you at all!"

"You saw me when Bard drove us here," he said lamely.

She didn't answer but cuddled him harder. He swore he could feel his ribs crack.

"Lizzie," somebody called, and Ciel recognized the arrogant lilt before he sensed the person's perfume, almost completely overpowered by his cousin's flowery scent, "give the kid some air. I swear, one of these days you'll choke him."

"You're just jealous because I got here first," Elizabeth said.

Ciel sighed to himself. Internally.

"What were you doing?" Alois asked, standing close to both Lizzie and Ciel. Personal space wasn't a concept he knew. At least he had peppermint breath. "Calling a girlfriend?"

"He _was_ on his phone," Soma the traitor confirmed with a waggle of his eyebrows. "And he hung up when he saw us."

Lizzie gaped, not even thinking of releasing Ciel. "What?"

"Or a boyfriend," Finny piped up.

"_What_?" Lizzie wheezed.

Alois cackled. "Or both!"

"Isn't that more your style?" Soma asked.

Alois rolled his eyes. "Will you let it go already? It happened _once_."

Ciel managed to manoeuvre out of Lizzie's vice-like embrace when the bell rang. "It was a business call," he said as he left.

"If you need love," Alois melodramatically called after him, attracting the attention of many students passing by, "you can always ask me, you know that! You wouldn't even have to pay me!"

Ciel often wondered why they knew each other.

OOO

Sebastian and Sieglinde showed up on a Friday. Tanaka led them to Vincent's old study where Ciel awaited them with tea and biscuits. While Ciel didn't believe either of them was going to eat anything or stay long enough for the tea to cool, he appreciated how Tanaka always thought of everything, unlike Ciel himself. There were even two chairs in front of the desk this time. It was almost like in a principal's office.

His guests took a seat – Sieglinde first, then Sebastian – and Ciel poured them a cup of tea each. He watched them attentively, but while Sieglinde seemed just a little tense and uncomfortable, Sebastian looked like he had every right to be here. "I believe our last meeting left me with unanswered questions," Ciel began. "That's why I called you here."

"You may ask your questions," Sebastian said as Sieglinde was busy holding the teacup to her lips and not meeting their gazes, "and we will try to answer them as best as possible."

Ciel leaned forward a little, resting his elbows on the desk. "Let us assume I'm not questioning what you claimed to be last time. You said you were able to track Claude down and you found him here. He's gone now. What are you planning to do about that?"

"We know there is a spot where there might still be a trace left," Sebastian said. "The young lady will track Claude to his next victim that way. He still forms contracts. That slows him down."

Ciel pondered for a few seconds. "Where is this spot?" he asked suspiciously, which caused Sieglinde to shoot her butler a telling look. It was all he needed for an answer. Ciel shook his head. "You freaks are not going to get into my parents' room."

Sebastian pulled a face. "Freaks? Now that's harsh…"

Sieglinde looked down into her teacup, then at the sugar and proceeded to heap such a large amount into the tea that the sugar couldn't possibly dissolve anymore. "How can we convince you otherwise?"

"Not at all," Ciel answered, already tense. He hadn't expected this conversation to go downhill so quickly, but here they were, on the verge of arguing, and Ciel hadn't learned anything new at all. "Whether you belong to some sect or a gang, it will not intimidate me enough to let you taint any spot in my house."

"Taint," Sieglinde repeated, appalled. "We're not like that." She shot Sebastian a side-along glance and his mouth twitched. "Well, _I_'m not, at least. And I'll be the one doing the magic."

Magic. Alright. "And that is as far as I'm willing to put up with you." Ciel got up from his seat, annoyed. He'd thought they'd talk to him since they came to him the first time, but all that came from their mouths was crazy talk. At least it was to Ciel. And he didn't quite care what other people thought of that; they weren't in his situation right now. "I thought we could come to an agreement,-"

"We still can," the butler interrupted, taking off his gloves. Black nails came into view. Ciel's eyes drifted to the tattoo on the back of the man's hand, the one that went up to cup the back of Ciel's head before the boy had time to realize what was happening. Long nails scraped across his scalp, and slim fingers gripped at his hair, tilting Ciel's head up until he met the butler's glowing red eyes.

The whole room darkened.

Ciel's heart began beating rapidly in his chest, but somewhere in the back of his mind he was relieved that it hadn't stopped instead. He did not dare breathe. Black tendrils seemed to move in his peripheral sight. Feathers rustled. It was too warm.

The creature in front of him sneered, exposing a neat row of pointed teeth. Horns broke the bone of its forehead, sprouting and twisting into themselves until they came to rest below its ears. Blood trickled from the broken skin, running down the creature's face. At the sight of that, Ciel felt terribly ill.

And then he was tossed back in his seat, the horns went back into the creature's skull as it sat down, putting its gloves on calmly. The darkness retreated. It seemed to be returning to the demon.

Ciel was breathing heavily now, eyes wide and fixed on the _thing_ in front of him.

"I am a witch," Sieglinde spoke up. She looked normal, unlike the beast that was still transforming back into a human. "And Sebastian is a demon. We are trying to find another demon. I hope you believe us now."

The demon fixed his collar and used a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face. "We'd like to see Rachel and Vincent's room now, if it pleases you," he said in a conversational tone, and then added a dazzling smile for effect.

"Of course," Ciel croaked. His hands were wrapped around the armrest of his chair so hard it hurt. "Of course."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Sieglinde is an important character. She will thus have POV chapters. Not as many as Ciel and Sebastian, but they should be pretty regular. I'm updating at a dangerous speed. Kinda running out of chapters, hahah...ha.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to leave revies, guys! =D

Beta credit goes to the wonderful Carrie2sky! :D

**CHAPTER 4**

Sieglinde didn't enjoy scaring people. She had been prone to panic attacks when she'd been younger and, strangely enough, the biggest shock of her life had turned out to be the best cure in its own twisted way. Trying to summon a demon was one thing, but actually managing it was a completely different pair of shoes. Not many could intentionally call a demon. It had given her such a shock back then that she still wondered how she had managed to form a contract with him and cover the loopholes she didn't want the demon to seize. But somehow she had gathered that courage and talked to Sebastian in a firm voice from thereon. He bowed and said 'Yes, my lady,' and sometimes she found it in her not to think of him as if he wanted to kill her before they'd found Claude.

Seeing him in his demon form had brought back the old memories of how she had been afraid of him, apprehensive, and then (merely) deeply suspicious. His demonic form wasn't anything she'd gotten to see often, only in moments when he dropped the human illusion – but only in places, never fully - in order to provide her with a fang, with claws or other things she wanted to try out in potions, salves and other things. Sometimes he let out his wings, black and gorgeous, and she would pluck a few feathers. She was able to approach him without fear now. Not because she didn't think that he was dangerous but because she knew that she was safe for now. It made their conversation less strained, it didn't make her mull over her orders too much when pressed because she knew that even if he managed to find a loophole in her orders might irritate her, it was the worst that could happen to her so far. Knowing herself in safety also made it easier to look at Sebastian's real form. It didn't make her less suspicious of him, it didn't make her trust him. It merely confirmed his temporary loyalty to her, and that was as good as it could get. It was fine this way, because surely Sebastian wasn't particularly trusting of her, either.

Ciel Phantomhive, who had no such promises to rely on, held himself very well. It was surprising that his expression grew stony after the initial shock. He needed a few seconds to calm down, focused only on Sebastian as if trying to imprint the man's portrait on his mind, and when his breathing had slowed down and his weren't wide with shock, he took a key from a desk drawer and politely (coldly) asked them to follow him. Sieglinde exchanged a glance with Sebastian. The demon seemed faintly surprised. But Ciel's reaction was only secondary for now – they had what they wanted.

"I suggest you do not taint the room," Ciel said as he walked.

Sieglinde shook her head, realizing too late that he couldn't see it. "I'm using a tracking spell. It's not like I'm going to prepare a dark ritual."

"Why this room in particular?"

"They were killed in there," she replied. "And their souls were taken there. The demon's magic should reside in that room for a while afterwards. I don't assume he took any other souls in the house, otherwise we wouldn't have to go to this room now."

"Souls don't exist," Ciel said brusquely. His posture was stiff. He must be highly uncomfortable, turning his back to people such as Sieglinde and Sebastian. Who wouldn't be? She would have liked to offer to walk in front of him, but she wouldn't know where to go.

Sieglinde frowned. "Now that you know that demons exist, why not change your opinion about souls, too?"

Ciel didn't answer. Sebastian caught up with her. It took her a few moments to realize that it wasn't him adjusting to her pace, but her trying to keep up with _him_. She took small, quick steps; Sebastian had long legs and wasn't going to slow down for her. "Maybe you should give him time," he said thoughtfully. "It is a lot to digest, I assume."

She blinked several times. Herself worrying about Ciel was alright, but Sebastian had never expressed something like that before. "Please don't tell me you're concerned about that kid."

"I wouldn't call it concerned," Sebastian said smoothly, but did not elaborate any further.

"And 'that kid' can perfectly hear you two," Ciel said over his stiffened shoulders. He must be getting cramps by now. "Who are you to call me that, anyway? You look younger than me."

Sieglinde shrugged. "I'm just as old as you are. Frozen in time. It's part of our contract."

Ciel, the poor boy, must be too overwhelmed with so many new facts that he simply didn't answer. Yes, that had to be it.

They arrived at the master bedroom. Ciel put his hand on the door handle, but he hesitated. "Earlier, you said that Claude forms contracts. You also said that he took their souls." He paused, pensive. "Are you telling me that he was contracted to my parents?"

"Yes, we believe that," Sebastian said. "From what I know about him, Claude only forms contracts. Though sometimes he will break them. In any case, he prefers to brand a soul as his to take. It tends to keep off competition."

"I don't think my parents would contract a demon," Ciel said.

Sebastian straightened. "And I am sure they knew exactly what they were doing."

After what seemed to be a small struggle with himself he opened the door. Ciel and Sieglinde walked inside, but when Sebastian made a move to enter, Ciel held up a hand. It seemed that he really didn't want to take any risks about the demon 'tainting' anything in this room. Sieglinde didn't understand the notion. It was just a room.

She looked around slowly, scanning the room with her senses. It smelled of nothing, the heaters were turned off, and everything was neatly arranged. She wasn't even sure if she could feel any magic. With a small groan she went to the doorframe where Sebastian was standing. She'd come to loathe these moments. Ciel, standing in the centre of the room, gave her an inquisitive look. "The demon has to come in. He's helping me."

"No way," Ciel sneered. "I don't want him setting foot in here."

"Just two seconds," Sieglinde murmured, coming to stand in front of Sebastian. The demon arched a perfect eyebrow, clearly knowing what was to come. He grabbed her by her upper arms and leaned in, thankfully stopping a few inches away from her face.

It was always hard relaxing in moments like these. She looked at the demon's chest and took deep breaths, glad that Sebastian had chosen not to wear a scent. They had done this two, maybe three times prior to this, and instead of getting smaller, her apprehension only grew larger with each time. She understood the benefit just as well as the danger.

As she breathed in and out she felt something inside her loosening. She concentrated on this and nodded, exhaling carefully. Sebastian breathed in.

Sieglinde wished she could see the piece of her soul leaving her, but between them was just air and the feeling that something was getting smaller within her. Shrivelling. Sebastian let go of her and took two steps back into the hallway. Sieglinde felt faint for just a moment, before her magic rushed to compensate for the loss of her essence. It was a vain, if instinctual attempt. She felt the power swell beneath her skin. Everything seemed brighter. This was something she was dangerously close to getting used to.

With the boost in magic she scanned the room again, extending her conscious into every corner of the room. She looked until the rush died down.

There was nothing.

Then it hit her with force. She had just given a piece of her soul for nothing.

"So?" Ciel's voice drifted to her. She shook her stupor off. The boy seemed a lot paler than he'd been before. Then again before demons and witches hadn't existed in his reality.

"We waited too long," she said. Ciel looked past her, frowning at something behind her. Probably Sebastian. She could guess how he must feel about that. Then again, he shouldn't complain. He'd gotten a small meal.

"What does that mean?" the Phantomhive boy asked.

"It means," Sebastian spoke up, "that we cannot track Claude down and will have to wait until he finds his next victim."

"It could take days or years until we hear from him again," Sieglinde said and shrugged. "Sorry to bother you. We'll be going our way now." When she turned around, Sebastian was giving her an unreadable look. The only thing she could read from it was displeasure. Although that tended to be his standard look.

Sieglinde had always wondered what a demon's eye would do. Sebastian would grow it back anyway, right? Even if he wouldn't be able to glare at her for a few seconds, she'd still take the chance, only to have a short rest from those eyes. Some things got annoying too quickly. Or maybe that was simply the deficiency talking. She had just lost something essential. "Sebastian, we're leaving," she said, not actually needing to, because if they couldn't find anything here, what good would it do to stay any longer?

Just as Sebastian stepped aside to let her lead the way, Ciel's voice stopped them.

"Wait," he said, his voice firm and demanding. "You will not leave until I say so."

Sieglinde raised her eyebrows. "Really now." She was about to stride away just to prove a point when Ciel spoke up again.

"If this Claude person is responsible for the death of my parents," the boy began, "then I wish to see him caught, too." Surprisingly enough, colour was returning to his face as he spoke, as if his wrath burned away any trace of fear that may have lingered.

Sieglinde exchanged a look with Sebastian. This time, there was a spark of interest in his gaze. "What do you wish for? Vengeance?" she asked.

Sebastian took a step towards Ciel, and the boy's expression faltered for a second before it hardened again. "No, he doesn't," the demon said. "He wants to stay safe. This isn't about his parents, it's about him. How incredibly selfish."

Ciel gave him a hard look. Sieglinde found herself mildly surprised. That one was strong in the most unexpected moments. "Do the dead truly care whether they are avenged or not?"

"How would I know," Sebastian murmured. "I am not dead." He grinned. "I see your point, my lord."

Ciel nodded, grimly pleased. "Then I don't see why I shouldn't try and help you track him down. My father had few close friends, but those friends knew everything about him."

"I don't think we can track a demon down by looking at the acquaintances of its past victims," Sieglinde said. "That is a ludicrous idea."

"It might not be," Sebastian replied. "If those people are nearly as interesting as Vincent Phantomhive himself, I am sure that Claude would find himself tempted to contract them as well. He was never particularly good at resisting."

"Then it is decided," Ciel said. "I will see what I can find out."

If he could, Sieglinde thought. They said their goodbyes and left the estate. Sieglinde watched the demon's eyes in the rear view mirror as he drove, concentrated on the street. When he looked up once or twice to find her staring, she didn't have the decency to look away.

"Is there something on your mind, Mistress Sullivan?"

"I was wondering…" Sieglinde looked out the window. "What happens to the soulless?

"Are you afraid of death?" the demon purred. "So suddenly?" Before she could reply to that, he went on: "After I take your soul, you will be given a chance. You will not make it consciously, nor will I have a say in it. It will simply happen."

"And then?" she asked.

Sebastian fell quiet.

* * *

_Sebastian being contracted to Sieglinde in this fic has pretty much one reason: Because he's a demon and forms contracts, I didn't feel like him contracting Ciel again in this story. It gets... monotonous after a while. I wanted them to meet under different circumstances and with the question of a contract already out of the way, which meant that Sebastian had to be contracted to someone else. I liked Sieglinde in the manga. So there you go. Yeah, it is kinda strange to get used to, but just roll with it! :)_

_Also, it makes it more interesting to see how the SebaCiel develops when Sebastian is still a soul-eating demon and Ciel still a mere human._

_Anyway, don't forget to leave reviews, dear readers. Reviews are love. _


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **So I'm quite glad that you are okay with Sieglinde being contracted to Sebastian =D Anyway, here you have another chapter. Enjoy and don't forget your reviews!

**CHAPTER 5**

While Diedrich had his own apartment in central London – and it was a rather nice one – he chose to drop by at the Phantomhive estate more days than not. This effectively meant that there were even more people around keeping an eye on Ciel. He had to endure critical glances from both him and Frances when they sat down for dinner. Lizzie would try to start a conversation, but Frances was terse and Diedrich naturally wasn't a very eloquent person. Ciel was usually too busy sending everyone angry looks to be listening to his cousin's blabbering. Those weren't his best moments, and he had to admit he felt a little guilty for being so openly annoyed by those people and in front of Lizzie. He was sure that after this trying phase he would be able to humour her again.

"I'd like to speak with you," he told Diedrich one evening, and the man gave him a long look before nodding. They went to the living-room right after dinner. Diedrich poured himself a glass of whiskey while Ciel watched him.

"I hope this is no unfriendly talk we're about to have," Diedrich began.

"Why would you think that?" Ciel asked.

"You seem tense, boy. As if anticipating a confrontation."

Ciel consciously slouched a little in his seat. Diedrich snorted, obviously noticing the forced ease. Well. "It is nothing of the sort," the boy said. "I am merely not sure which answers will be given to my questions."

"If we knew the answers we wouldn't have to ask. It's that simple." Diedrich settled for the armchair opposite to Ciel's. "What would you like to know?"

"We should talk about my father," Ciel said. He didn't miss how Diedrich pulled a face. He could understand. It has barely been three weeks now.

"I can't say that this is going to be a comfortable conversation," he said. "But if that's what you want…"

"What was he like?" Ciel asked.

"A downright bastard, if you excuse my language." Diedrich said this with much affection; Ciel felt that he could let the insult go but he did frown nevertheless. "And greedy, too. Give him hundred pounds and he'd horde them, double or triple the amount _somehow_ and horde that, too. It's a wonder he invested in this house's renovation. But then again, his need for luxury might have overridden his stinginess. He ate too much. He chased after everything with two legs and a nice smile during school times."

Ciel blinked. "Didn't he go to Weston High?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Wasn't he promised my mother's hand already?"

"Yeah," Diedrich said. "So?"

Ciel fell silent.

"You do know that balls were and are still held at Weston High, don't you?"

That still wasn't what Ciel had expected. "You're kind of ruining the picture I had of him."

"Sorry," Diedrich said without much remorse. "I figured you were old enough to know the darker bits of his nature. Nobody else would have told you, you realize. If you aren't ready I'll wait until you're twenty-one."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "It is my mistake for not trying to find out about his flaws. Do continue."

Diedrich eyed him suspiciously. "Well, what else can I say? Rest assured, I loved the guy and everybody else did, too. But he was no saint. He managed to gather some crazy individuals around him. As you know he also worked as an informant or consultant for the police while also running his business. I think that's how he managed to find all these nutjobs. Some of them surely belong behind bars."

Ciel raised his eyebrows. "Among these… nutjobs… Was there a man named Claude?"

"Who?" Diedrich pulled the corners of his mouth down in a pensive manner. "Not that I knew of. Our group often met, but I never encountered a man named Claude. What is he supposed to look like? Do you have a picture?"

Ciel shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't. I cannot describe him to you, either."

Diedrich hummed. "Is this about the murder?"

"Yes."

"I can't help you with that." He shifted in his seat. "But I know someone who might."

Ciel waited.

"That guy who was with me during the funeral? Tall, grey-haired, creepy smile?"

How could Ciel forget? "He had an interesting name: Undertaker."

"You know what, I'm sure that guy is actually a serial killer or something. Not even Vincent knew his real name. But Undertaker had his use within our group. He knew _everything_. I'm sure if you ask him, he might help you where I couldn't."

Ciel wasn't quite sure if that would prove to be true. That old, albeit creepy man from the funeral was a mere mortal after all. What would he know of demons?

"Thank you." Ciel got up, and Diedrich followed the movement with his eyes as if he was expecting Ciel to faint or something akin to that. "You have helped me add a few strokes to the painting of my father."

The German emptied the glass. "Is that so? What does it look like now?"

"More defined," Ciel said quietly.

OOO

Alois followed him home one day. Or rather, Ciel had said no several times and after Alois had gotten into the car intended for him and Lizzie, Ciel had given up on it and let the Trancy boy come back home with them. He dearly hoped that Lizzie would keep him entertained. Upon coming back from school Ciel usually retreated into his father's study. It still smelled of Vincent's cologne and everything still bore Vincent within its atoms. Even the damned furniture. Ciel was beginning to think of redecorating it.

Alois dropped his bag, toed off his shoes and took off his jacket. He then proceeded to take off his uniform pullover and fully unbutton his shirt. It was icy outside, Ciel wanted to say, but thought better of it. Lizzie merely watched. "Do you always do that when you visit Ciel?"

"I do that whenever I visit anybody."

"You never did it at my house," the girl said.

"Yeah, well, your mother is frightening,"

This had to be one of the few things everyone agreed upon.

"I am glad you're here," Lizzie said to the blond boy, and Ciel went back to disagreeing internally. "Ciel runs away whenever we return home."

"Do you now?" Alois drawled. "Well," he said to Lizzie, "he won't run away this time because he knows I'll follow."

"Sadly," Ciel added. Once they arrived in the winter garden, Tanaka brought them tea. Ciel frowned when he only saw two cups set in front of Lizzie and Alois.

"There is a man waiting for you, young master," the old butler said. "A certain Mr. Michaelis."

Ciel froze. "Is Miss Sullivan with him?"

Tanaka shook his head.

Well, if that wasn't strange. Ciel excused himself and left his friend and cousin to entertain themselves without him.

Ciel found Sebastian in the red saloon where the butler stood by the window, looking out. "I wonder," he said the moment Ciel entered, "at the nature of this room."

Ciel came to a halt, completely dumbstruck. "Excuse me?"

"This shade of red is particular, don't you think?" The butler touched a gloved hand to the wall next to the window. "It is very sensual."

Despite his senses telling him to stop this conversation – the audacity one had to have to say such thoughts aloud! – Ciel looked around. Everything was held in a deep red, not quite crimson, not quite burgundy. There were only lounges in this room. A collection of expensive spirits. A pool table. "I don't see that," Ciel said, "neither do I want to. This is simply a red room. You are implying things that are not true."

"I am indeed implying," the butler said, "but I shan't continue if you don't wish to hear it." He stood by the window as Ciel took a seat, not bothering to ask the demon to sit down, too.

"Why are you here?" Ciel asked. "Surely not to talk about how much… activity this room MIGHT had seen."

"I just came here to look at you," the butler said, his expression so unmoved that Ciel thought this to be another joke.

"To look at me," the boy repeated. "Did your mistress tell you to?"

"Not at all," the butler replied smoothly. "She gave me the day off as she is busy brewing questionable potions from my skin and blood."

Ciel felt his eyes narrow. Now, that sounded disgusting. "And you decided to come here. Why?"

"You are now part of our hunt for Claude." Sebastian smirked. "I'd like to know my allies."

"You seem to misunderstand," Ciel said. "You are _my_ allies."

Sebastian's smirk widened. "You say the most amusing things. Mouthing off to something like me… I wonder, where does your courage come from? Do you do that to everyone or am I simply special?"

"Being on my bad side doesn't make you special at all." Ciel sneered. "Everybody is on my bad side."

The demon chuckled. "You are most interesting, Ciel Phantomhive. But whether we are your allies or you ours, don't you think that it is important to trust each other?"

Ciel snorted. "Who put that notion in your head?"

"Experience," Sebastian said with a cold smile.

"Trust isn't proven by conversation," Ciel said.

"But conversation is a beginning." The demon looked at him intently. "And I can see that you still have questions."

That was because Sullivan and Sebastian had raised new ones, but Ciel wouldn't give Sebastian the privilege of knowing that. He selected the most pressing questions and hoped that he'd find the answers to his other questions without having to ask. "Why is Sieglinde after Claude?"

"Sieglinde," Sebastian began, looking as if he was choosing the right words, "is after Claude because I am."

"So she is following _your_ orders."

That earned him a laugh from Sebastian. "She would kill you had she heard that. No, it is simply an extension of our contract. I saw that she knew techniques that demons weren't all too aware of, and I offered her a longer life if she applied her knowledge to find Claude. Her contract was formulated in a way that allowed me to take her soul when she said the wrong words and I chose to interpret them that way. She did include a number of years in which I cannot kill her, but what happens afterwards…? We decided it was in both our interest that we find and get rid of Claude."

"Why would you want to kill him?" Ciel asked.

The demon snorted. "To be quite honest, I find having to kill him immensely time-consuming and quite annoying. But it's him or me, and I personally prefer it to be him."

Ciel looked at Sebastian for some time. "You're being awfully honest."

"You're being awfully distrustful."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sebastian looked way too amused for Ciel's taste. "Is that so?" He left his place by the window to approach the boy leisurely. Ciel was not going to play the game of taking a step back and giving the demon more room. Sebastian came to a halt directly in front of the boy, their tiptoes almost touching, and leaned down a little. "How is it that you don't trust those who want to help you?"

Ciel crossed his arms in front of his chest, his back ramrod straight, refusing to back down. He looked the demon straight in the eyes as he thought of an answer. "You only want to help yourself," he said finally. "Once my role has been played, who says you won't dispose of me?"

Sebastian smirked. "Do such thoughts frighten you?"

"I'd prefer not to lose my life due to a demon of all things."

"And you think angels are kinder?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes.

The smirk on the demon's mouth grew. "I have seen them, casting each other out, throwing their own kind from the sky and watching their wings turn ashen. Demons lie. Angels lie. We maim and we kill. The only difference is the colour of our wings."

Slowly, Ciel looked the demon up and down. "I don't believe in angels," he said.

"And just a few days ago, you didn't believe in my kind, either," Sebastian said. "If you're lucky, you won't get to see them your whole life. Now that you're associated with people such as me and Mistress Sullivan, chances are high that they are going to try and track you down. Then they will kill you."

Ciel could feel his throat go dry. "That is what you think."

"That is what I know." Sebastian took a small step backwards, so as if to give Ciel room to breathe. They boy inhaled deeply, but carefully. "If you don't die at my hands, you may die at theirs. If you don't die at their hands, you might die at mine."

"I'd rather die at nobody's hands," Ciel said.

There was a small moment of silence. Tilting his head to one side, the demon watched the boy closely. "I could protect you."

Ciel wanted to laugh. He didn't. "If I give my life to you, I get it. That is contradicting my intentions."

"Death is final in any case. The one that I could give you is quick and easy. And I can make it painless."

Ciel walked to the door and opened it. "My answer is no. I refuse. You can get Sullivan to form a contract with you, but I have other plans with my life. I will not spend it with a monster whose leash is made of mere words. Just like I will eliminate Claude, I will eliminate threats to my life. If you're bent on being one, I will gladly find a way to destroy you." He pointed out the room. "Kindly get out of my house."

The demon seemed surprised. He stared at Ciel silently as if he couldn't quite believe that had just happened. Then he jolted into motion, bowing deeply before he left the house. Ciel was glad to see that there was no smile gracing the creature's lips as it left.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Yeah, this chapter almost came out too late. I ran into a writer's block with that one. It is kind of a filler. This is unbeta'd because I wanted to post it today. And I finished it today, so...

Chapter 7 (Sebastian's POV) is already finished and will be beta'd. As soon as it's done, you'll get it!

In the meantime, this chapter.

**CHAPTER 6**

After Sebastian had left the house, Sieglinde called her maids into her room where they made her ready to go out. They picked out her clothes as she stared into her reflection by the vanity.

"Are you sure you want to go out with only one of us?" Hilde asked as her voice gained a cranky undertone that suggested that she was going to mention Sebastian soon. "Usually you take the demon with you."

"The demon isn't here, or is he?" Sieglinde shot back.

"Mistress, it is not safe out there…"

"I can defend myself. I only need another to have my back. Should anything go horribly wrong Sebastian will be there in a moment."

"A moment might be too long," Hilde muttered, but she resumed brushing the girl's hair.

"Anne, you're coming with me," Sieglinde said, and Hilde looked like she was about to protest again. Anne was the youngest of the maids. Sieglinde knew she should take either Grete or Hilde with her. But she wanted Anne to accompany her, and it was going to happen.

"Of course," the girl said. Sieglinde saw her in the mirror, exchanging gazes with both Grete and Hilde. One of these days Sieglinde would cast a raincloud over Hilde's head which would go wonderfully with that woman's mood.

When she was dressed and pretty enough for her maids to stop fussing over her, she left the house with Anne, who seemed wholly uncomfortable. It might have to do with the glare that Hilde was sending her. Grete just looked a little bit concerned. At least Sieglinde thought so.

"Relax," she said when they got in the car. Wolfram squeezed his large frame into the driver's seat and started the vehicle. "See it as a test for your usefulness when you're alone with me."

"That doesn't help," Anne muttered. "Mistress Sullivan," she added rather hastily.

"Wolfram is there, too." Sieglinde felt irritation rising within her. All of her staff was exceeding expectations every day. Just because Anne had never been selected as her mistress' sole guard didn't mean she could freak out over it now. "He might not be as fast as Sebastian, but should anything happen, he'll be there to assist you, too."

Anne looked at the back of the man's head and sunk into the backseat a little. Sieglinde did the same, creating wrinkles in the sensitive fabric of her skirt.

Wolfram wasn't very talkative today. Maybe because Sebastian had managed to bake a three-story cake right before Sieglinde had let him go for the day. Wolfram tended to get very jealous over things like that.

She wondered where the demon had gone. Did those creatures have places they liked to spend time at? Was there something – a place, a thing, a person – that had sentimental value to them? Sieglinde was currently studying Sebastian's body, she might as well try to study his mind. But she had a vague feeling that that would be much harder than cutting his nails or getting him to squeeze out a tear or two for her.

"Where are we going, mistress?" Wolfram asked.

"Do I need a reason to leave the house?" she shot back.

Wolfram winced.

"You wanted to brew potions," Anne reminded her carefully.

"And they are brewing. I want to do something in the meantime."

Wolfram let them out on the other side of the city, and Sieglinde began roaming the streets. There were always things that she hadn't seen before, and she liked discovering them. Anne hovered somewhere behind her until Sieglinde grabbed her hand and thus forced her to walk by her side. Maybe Grete would have been a better choice, after all. Or even Hilde. But she had chosen Anne because this was supposed to be casual. She'd just wanted to walk around a bit. Anne was adding an uncomfortable feeling to the mood, and Sieglinde didn't quite feel like staying away from the house for too long anymore.

She discovered a flower shop, neatly tucked between a café and a tiny bookshop she frequently sought out. The flower shop was new, so she decided to check it out. Maybe she could lighten up her mood with a pretty bouquet.

It was larger than one might expect when standing outside, but still a little cramped. There was a fair-haired couple by the counter, heads touching and both of them leaning over something that looked like a book. The woman looked up, and probably because of the movement of her head, so did the man, and Sieglinde saw that they were twins. Even so, they were standing _awfully_ close. She was pretty sure the man had his arm around the woman's waist, his fingers hovering over the hem of her jeans.

"Good day, love," the woman said cheerily. When she moved away from the man, he dropped his arm. "How are you doing?"

Sieglinde blinked. "Fine, thank you. I'd like a bouquet."

"I can help you with that," the woman said, still smiling. She had violet eyes. Contacts, maybe? "Ash, stay there," she added without turning. Sieglinde could see that the man had moved to follow. Now his eye twitched, but he obeyed.

Even if she told her… brother to stay, it seemed as if there was a rope stretching between them. It seemed hard for her to put more distance between herself and that Ash person. Sieglinde eyed them quietly. Talk about strange people. She was glad that Sebastian wasn't around. The demon had a useless tendency to make snarky remarks when it came to strangers he knew he wouldn't have to please. They would have gotten themselves thrown out of the shop and Sieglinde didn't feel like being embarrassed at the moment. Sebastian took his pleasures in the meanest ways.

The woman – her name tag read 'Angela' – and Sieglinde arranged a nice bouquet while Anne stood in the middle of the room, looking suspicious because she tried not to be. However, from her position she had an eye on both Ash and Angela, something Sieglinde found she appreciated.

Only after they had paid for the flowers and had left the shop did the girl feel relief. Stunned by the realization she turned back to the shop, subtly scanning it through the glass. Angela had returned to Ash, who had his arms wrapped around her now. There was nothing akin to fondness in that embrace; it seemed desperate and crushing.

"Let's not go in there again," Anne said next to Sieglinde.

The young witch frowned. "But they are interesting." Albeit creepy, but she didn't add that.

"Mistress," Anne said, just a tad vehement. "Who knows where they broke out from."

"They were just hugging." Sieglinde rolled her eyes. But she, too, felt uneasy about those two. She couldn't quite say why.

* * *

_Because creepy Ash and Angela are creepy and that's pretty much it. _

_Don't forget your reviews, even though it was a filler XD See you in the next chapter!_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Here the next chapter. Didn't get many reviews for the last one, so please don't forget them this time? =)

Beta credits go to Carrie2sky, as always =)

**Warning(?):** Mentions of drugs. Nothing more than that.

**CHAPTER 7**

Finding the criminal was a little less easy than Sebastian had initially thought. He had smelt death on the man during the funeral, and he had tasted the drugs that he dealt with. What a man like that was doing at the funeral of a Phantomhive certainly had been interesting. Maybe he could help, Sebastian had thought, and that was why he had started looking for that man. According to hearsay, the man was called Lau and the leader of a criminal empire.

Or the publisher of a men's magazine.

Sebastian wasn't surprised.

It took him the better part of his day off (after Ciel had thrown him out which was still a sore spot) to find the man, which in itself was half a day too long for Sebastian to find drug and death dealers.

He narrowed his search down to a popular nightclub. Dressed in a casual suit that made everyone turn their heads toward him, Sebastian approached the VIP booth in which Lau sat, a petite woman in his lap and two wardrobes of men on each side. There were other people in that booth, too, no doubt the beautiful elite, somehow communicating over the loud bass that made the whole building shake.

Sebastian made a point to linger around the booth, in Lau's direct field of vision. He found a lady to dance with, then a man. Both pressed themselves against him, and Sebastian took pleasure in their lust for him. But he smelled their expensive perfumes and the sweat and the alcohol on their breath, and just like that, he lost interest. He felt so many pairs of eyes on him, it was hard to find out if one of those belonged to Lau.

He went to the bar. A perky girl rushed to serve him, grinning widely and showing a clean row of teeth beneath her blood red lips. Sebastian returned the smile charmingly and ordered the strongest drink he could find on the card. It tasted like nothing and wouldn't get him drunk, not even after ten drinks. He had downed half of the drink before things finally got interesting.

A hand touched his wrist before he could finish his drink. Sebastian stopped and turned to look at the woman that he'd seen sitting in Lau's lap before. She looked at him as if she had seen him in a thousand variations and was tired of it. _Come with me_, she mouthed, not even bothering to battle the loud music. Sebastian put his glass down and followed her. A sense of quiet victory filled him.

Lau's booth was a little quieter, but not by too much. "I don't think I've seen you here before," the Chinese man greeted Sebastian as he was led into the booth. "I could make use of your face."

Sebastian smirked. "Could you?"

The man chuckled. "For my magazine. I'm Lau. Surely you've heard of me."

"I have heard very little about you, sir," Sebastian said as Lau motioned for him to take a seat next to him, "but even few words can say much, don't you think?"

The man didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "I'm beginning to think you came here with me in mind."

"I did. Are you flattered?"

Lau grinned. The woman returned to his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and staring at Sebastian intently. The bulky men got up and politely asked everyone else to leave the booth. Surprisingly enough, the people left. Not even the drunk complained. Sebastian hid his frown.

"I might be." The demon looked up as the criminal spoke. "What is it that you are here for?"

"Can I speak freely?" Sebastian said after a pause.

"You may. Nobody is in here that wouldn't know."

"I thought you'd deny everything," Sebastian said carefully.

"What can I say...?" Lau shrugged. "There is something about you that tells me that lying won't bring me far. I am a good liar. I have good lawyers. But I don't feel like using any of that on you. Care to tell me why?"

That was… Surprisingly easy. Sebastian raised his eyebrows, not bothering to hide his astonishment. "I know you deal with drugs and death," Sebastian said.

"I have the best assassins," Lau confirmed. "And many interesting chemicals to play with."

"Do you track people, too?"

"Comes with the field of work."

Sebastian almost huffed a laugh. "What if I had a listening device on me?"

"I know you don't." That could either be a bluff or the truth. Sebastian couldn't quite tell. This was an interesting specimen. "What would you like us to do for you?"

Us. Sebastian looked around. Not everyone had left the booth, it seemed. The two bodyguards were still there, as well as a youngster with black and blond hair slouching in his seat no too far away, nursing his drink with a nonchalance that came to him naturally. Sebastian eyed the boy for a moment. The boy looked up and winked at him.

"I know you had something to do with Vincent or Rachel Phantomhive. Maybe even with their deaths. You were at the funeral."

"That I was," Lau said without missing a beat. "And I indeed knew them."

Sebastian could think about the Phantomhives' ethics later. "Do you happen to know a man named Claude Faustus?"

The smile slid off Lau's lips. "Claude Faustus?"

"Yes."

The youngster seemed to have tuned them out completely. The bodyguards were scowling heavily. Suddenly Sebastian knew that this was a dead end.

Lau told him as much. "We will not seek out this man."

"Care to tell me why?"

"No," Lau said after a second's worth of silence in which he looked Sebastian up and down. "It is a shame that we couldn't come to an agreement; your payment would have been your face on the cover page of the next issue. But alas, we cannot do business if you're looking for the wrong people."

"You know where he is," Sebastian said slowly.

"Actually, I don't. I don't want to know where he is. There are things you shouldn't seek out. Claude Faustus is one of them."

Sebastian should have expected this outcome. Puny humans getting all scared of an uncultured beast like Claude. Of course. "Interesting, hearing these words from a mob boss."

"You'll see that wisdom can be found everywhere. Please do not try to find us again. Please do not look for Claude Faustus. He is the devil."

"You believe in that?"

"I have seen it," Lau said, dead serious.

"I am a devil, too," Sebastian said finally. "And I want to take Claude out. Tell me where he is."

Lau shook his head. Sebastian contemplated tearing it off – and wouldn't that teach him a lesson? – but ultimately decided against it. The man could still come to his senses.

"I will take my leave, then," Sebastian announced, standing.

"Farewell," Lau said with a little wave.

When Sebastian left the club – watching the people watching him leave – he checked his wristwatch. It was already early morning. He had to return to his contractor. His mark itched.

Unhappy faces greeted him at the Mistress' house. But not only did they seem angry, but also worried sick. Especially Hilde. That woman couldn't keep her facial expressions in very well.

When she saw Sebastian she made a beeline towards him. He thought of fleeing, but that wouldn't be very dignified, so he stayed and allowed her to grab him by the collar, pull him down towards her and shout at him.

"Where have you been?"

"Information hunting," Sebastian replied smoothly. "You know, the information that will allow your mistress to live longer?"

She looked ready to rip his throat out with her bare hands. Instead she shook him, which didn't have much of an effect on him, but it got the message across. Anne had hurried to the pair, now placing a hand on Hilde, but Hilde slapped it away like it was the most annoying thing she had seen in her entire life.

Sebastian brought his own hands to Hilde's where they were grabbing his collar and wrinkling his shirt and started a careful attempt at prying them apart. It did not work. The woman's hands were surprisingly strong. Sebastian on the other hand didn't want to apply _too_ much pressure, lest he break them. So he kept her hands engulfed in his, which disgusted her so much that she tore them free.

"What happened that has you in a mood like this at two am?" Sebastian asked, straightening his collar.

"The Mistress tested the new potion," Anne said when Hilde seemed too furious to speak, "she poisoned herself."

Sebastian frowned. "I don't feel that."

"Whether you feel it or not, she's in bed now with a fever and poisonous demon tissue in her stomach," Hilde said.

"I'm sure her stomach will take care of that all by itself," Sebastian said. Without wasting another moment on the scandalized witches by the main entrance, he quickly took the stairs and went into Sieglinde's room after a hurried knock.

The girl was lying among plush cushions, buried in a pile of blankets, and was emitting the stench of sickness. Sebastian could hear Grete in the other room rummaging around. He knew it was Grete by the fact that nothing had been dropped yet. Grete had the steadiest pair of hands next to Sebastian, in any situation. Wolfram was probably crying in the kitchen or had been banned from the grounds to calm down. Or maybe he had taken a few moments on his own accord and was now leaving the city for a run in the woods.

"I heard you poisoned yourself, mistress," Sebastian murmured when he approached the bed. Sieglinde was sweaty and pale and undeniably small. She looked at him with glassy eyes. Sebastian felt his contract mark itch. Had it done that before?

"Never mix your own skin with basil," Sieglinde muttered, slurring like she was drunk. There was a pompous bouquet on her nightstand. Sebastian stared at it, bewildered by the sight, until Sieglinde spoke again: "Among other things. But basil…"

"I'll make sure to remember that," Sebastian said with a frown. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Sieglinde replied with a scowl. "Can't you see?"

"I can, actually. I didn't want to be rude and simply assume, though."

Sieglinde pulled a face. "If you're trying to be funny, check your attitude. You're simply annoying."

The bathroom door opened and Grete entered the bedroom, placing a bucket next to Sieglinde's bed. The girl looked at it and promptly turned green.

"We assume it's life-threatening," Grete said. "She stopped breathing earlier, but we managed to bring her back." She looked at him calmly, but Sebastian knew her heart was beating as if she was running a marathon. "It is in your interest to keep her alive."

"It is," Sebastian said. "What do you plan to do?"

"We find a cure." She tilted her head to the right. "Let's start with the most obvious." She grabbed his arm and pushed up the sleeve to mark a stripe of flesh on his lower arm. "Rip that off; I'll try to brew an antidote from that."

"And if that makes it worse?" Sebastian asked.

"Then you will bring me an angel," Grete replied. "And you will kill it here. You hear me?"

Sebastian found himself a little taken aback by the vehemence in Grete's voice. "That will be hard to do."

"You want to find Claude, don't you?"

"What Grete just told you to do," Sieglinde croaked, strangely conscious. "That's an order, you hear me?"

"Of course," Sebastian said, bowing.

He had never killed an angel before. They weren't easy to murder. He had heard that some of them had slain an army of (admittedly, lower) demons in a group of fifty. Fifty against thousands. Angels were a force that kept even high demons like Sebastian on their toes. It was easier to avoid them than face them. They also worked better as a team than demons, who preferred to roam the world alone. So they could easily erase a high-ranking demon in no time if it was two or three against one.

As he watched his pale contractor fall asleep, Sebastian felt a curious but pesky feeling bloom within him, cutting his centre with its thorns.

Doubt.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **It is important that we all thank Carrie for betaing like a boss. She's really fast and I am bad at deadlines.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**CHAPTER 8**

Sieglinde looked terrible, Ciel thought when he saw her. He didn't state it, though, because according to Sebastian she had looked worse just a week ago.

There had been some disgusting potion made from Sebastian's skin and some herbs and for all Ciel knew a rat's tail that Sieglinde had managed to poison herself with. For an antidote one of her maids – who all were witches and nobody had _told_ him that until after he had set foot in the house – had brewed something equally disgusting. Apparently it had helped. Judging by the sceptic looks everybody in the room shot Sieglinde whenever she as much as twitched the girl was far from alright.

"And what do we learn from that?" Ciel asked. He was a little irritated because instead of pursuing his trail, he had to visit Sieglinde. Aunt Frances had practically forced him into the car. Thank goodness that Bard had been able to stop her from driving Ciel here. It would have been a terrifying ride. "Don't brew disgusting cocktails. Why would you do that anyway?"

"One would think you're concerned," Sieglinde drawled. Her voice still seemed a little weak and she wasn't allowed to leave the bed yet. She did seem twitchy, and Ciel felt the empathizing urge to take her out for a walk. This feeling lasted for about a second, maybe even less. He wasn't going to busy himself with a sick girl.

"Not particularly," he thus said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Sieglinde smiled indulgently.

"Mistress," Sebastian piped up from the far end of the room. Ciel didn't miss the hostile glances thrown his way by the maid witches. "I know you are currently impaired, but it is of highest priority that we continue or search. It is possible for Claude to vanish any day. We shouldn't waste time."

The stern-looking witch maid opened her mouth, but Sieglinde was faster: "Of course," was all she said. "I wouldn't have expected anything else from you."

"I would also like to find Claude," Ciel added, and Sieglinde looked pained for a moment.

"You and my butler are going to be best friends if you keep this up."

"We try to," Sebastian said, sending her a smile so fake that even the Viscount of Druitt would have noticed. It was Ciel's turn to look pained. Who knew that the demon could pack so much poison into a single sentence?

Sieglinde seemed completely unfazed by it. "Sebastian, I allow you to continue your search with Ciel. You do not have to listen to his orders if you don't want to, but you are to keep him safe. Do not kill him. Do not get him killed." It told Ciel a lot that she had to explicitly state that he wasn't to die. He felt a little bit ill at the thought that Sebastian could potentially just tear him into shreds. "I want you to inform me of your findings. You are not to neglect your duties as my butler. You will continue to obey me."

Sebastian approached the bed and went down on one knee. "Yes, my lady."

"Don't get on Ciel's nerves. Be a good example of my house." Judging by how she picked up a book from her nightstand and began to read in silence, Sieglinde dismissed them all shortly afterwards. Ciel raged internally over this behaviour but left the room with much dignity. The maids and the blond man left the room in silence, all of them sparing Ciel one last look as if they had practiced it, and then descended the stairs, each returning to their work. With three (or four) people with supernatural abilities gone, Ciel was only left with a demon standing a little too close for comfort and an impaired witch behind closed doors. Speaking of the demon…

Ciel refused to take a step away from the creature. Sebastian was clearly testing the waters. It was a dominance thing, wasn't it? Just because Sieglinde had told Sebastian that he could choose when to listen to Ciel. The boy would be damned if he lost the first round already.

"If you are interested," Ciel said, as nonchalantly as possible (though he felt like he only came off as constipated; that demon got him on edge way too fast), "I have somebody on my list who might bring us a little further."

Sebastian looked down at Ciel, smirking. "I'm interested."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when a deviant thought entered his brain. What exactly did Sebastian mean? The boy scowled and wanted to shake his head. He didn't though, because Sebastian was eyeing him like he was some sort of prey. "His name is Undertaker. Ever heard of him?"

"I don't think I've had the pleasure."

Ciel descended the stairs, going straight for the coatrack as he spoke. "He is a forensic pathologist. There is also a funeral service that's under his name."

"He will not be allowed to share any details on his cases," Sebastian piped up. As if Ciel hadn't known that before.

"My father used him as an informant," Ciel snipped. "This man isn't particularly lawful. Besides, we're not asking him about his cases, we're asking him if he knows something about Claude."

They left the house and entered a black car. The chauffeur, Bard, looked at Sebastian in his rear view mirror silently until Ciel cleared his throat and gave the man the address. His staff had found out where Undertaker lived as well as his working schedule. According to that data, he should be at home.

"Let us out here," Ciel muttered when they reached their destination. Undertaker's townhouse was just a block away, but Ciel didn't feel like alerting the man to their presence. He unbuckled his seatbelt and waited, but Sebastian simply got out and didn't open the door for the boy. Feeling a little bit ridiculous, Ciel exchanged a glance with Bard in the rear view mirror. The blond man looked about to do the job himself, but Ciel told him to remain seated. In the end, he glared at Sebastian through the window until the demon found it fit to open the door for Ciel. Climbing out of the car, the boy huffed.

"Is it that hard?" he asked sarcastically.

"I only open the door for the Mistress," Sebastian said primly, but raised an eyebrow as if in challenge.

"Well, you'll be opening the door for me too from now on," Ciel spat. "It's good manners."

"You are aware what kind of person you are talking to?"

"I don't care what you are," Ciel said, realizing at the same moment that this was a lie. Nevertheless he went on: "You're playing a human. You're a butler right now. So act like one." With that he stomped away, hoping that Sebastian wouldn't grate on his nerves any longer. After a few seconds, Ciel turned around and saw Sebastian following him silently.

When they were at Undertaker's house, Ciel thought of what he wanted to say before he rang the bell. It didn't take long for the grey-haired man to open the door. Upon spotting Ciel through his thick fringe – however that was possible – his lips twisted into a wide smile. Now that he was standing directly in front of the man, Ciel was surprised by the lack of wrinkles he found in the man's face.

"Young Earl," the man croaked. "You look just like your father."

"Undertaker," Ciel said stiffly. "I am here to discuss business. Please let me in."

The man giggled weirdly but stepped aside so that they could enter. Ciel wiped his shoes on the mat but didn't take them off. He let Sebastian take off his coat for him, though. They both followed Undertaker into a light-flooded living-room. Ciel looked at the man dressed all in black. Talk about contrasts…

"Can I offer you anything?" Undertaker asked as they entered. "Tea? Biscuits? They're homemade."

"No thank you," Ciel said. "We don't want anything."

The grey-haired man hummed noncommittally. "And who is your interesting companion?"

Sebastian straightened his posture. "Interesting?"

"That man is Sebastian Michaelis, and he is someone else's butler," Ciel said. He didn't know why he felt the need to clarify that Sebastian didn't 'belong' to him, but there he was.

"I see…" Undertaker asked them to sit. He himself remained standing, even though there was a seat facing the couch on which Ciel and Sebastian were sitting. "I take it you're asking for information. I usually have a fee, but this one time I'll let it slide, because this…" – he motioned at nothing in particular – "… is already interesting enough. Ask away, good child."

_Good child_. The boy barely held in a snort.

"You knew my father?" Ciel asked.

"And who told you that?"

"A man named Diedrich. Is that a problem?"

Undertaker chuckled. "Not at all. Diedrich thinks I'm a killer, though. It still makes me giggle to think about that…"

"My father," Ciel interrupted. "How well did you know him?"

"Oh I _knew_ him," Undertaker said. His strange emphasis made Ciel frown, but he didn't dwell on it. "I've been working closely with Vincent for years. He was a remarkable man. And very greedy. He wanted everything and everyone." As if reminiscing on something, Undertaker guffawed. Ciel sent the man a look of dismay, but it seemed lost on him. "Surely you know that the crime rate dropped significantly in the last six years? That was because he wanted the underground. And he hauled the most important criminal into his boat and controlled it from thereon. Indirectly. But still."

"You make it sound like lowering the crime rate hadn't been in his intention," Ciel said.

That made Undertaker clutch his sides because he started laughing so hard he couldn't even stand upright. It took him three full minutes (Ciel had checked) to calm down again, and even then giggles were rippling through his body as he wiped away tears of mirth.

"Your father was a great man. But he was no good man. His friends loved him, and he revelled in it."

Ciel had almost expected that, to be honest. He forced himself not to think about that yet. Any feeling he had about that was shoved aside without much ado.

"And you are just going to say that out loud?"

Undertaker tilted his head to the side. "Why not?"

Ciel sighed. He was going to have to watch that man, wasn't he? If somebody else received that kind of information… "My father seems to have had a lot of charm."

"It was all he did, from morning to evening." Undertaker shrugged. "Charm people."

"That criminal you mentioned earlier," Ciel began, "who is he? I heard my father had a small group of close friends. Have you met that man?"

"Oh, yes."

They waited. Nothing followed.

"Would you tell us his name?" Ciel prodded further.

Undertaker blinked. "What? No. Why should I? He has a reputation to keep up. I cannot go around telling everyone his-…"

"It's Lau."

Both Ciel and Undertaker turned their heads to Sebastian. The demon seemed very sure of himself, and Ciel felt himself relax a little. Lau. He was sure he had heard it before. He would remember that name. Maybe it would help him in the future.

"It is…" Undertaker said slowly, clearly amused.

"He is not going to help us on our search," Sebastian said to Ciel. "I've sought him out already. He refused to help, but he seemed to know something."

"He always knows something," Undertaker piped up. "He's almost as good as I am."

"What makes you better than him?" Sebastian asked.

Undertaker shrugged. "The dead are very good at telling the truth. And I have seen many of them." He looked between them. "You are certainly no regular butler," he said to Sebastian. "What are you two looking for?"

"Who," Ciel corrected. "The murderer of my parents."

It was hard to read somebody's expression when half of their face was covered. "Is that so?" the grey-haired man croaked, sounding elated.

"I am coming to you with this because Diedrich said my father trusted you. I will trust you, too. Do not make me regret it." When Undertaker only smirked, Ciel went on: "We have a name, but nothing to track and no clue whatsoever about this person's future plans."

"You came to the right place," Undertaker said. "I can help you, but you have to give me a little bit more than that."

"He likes to go by the name Claude Faustus," Sebastian said.

This made Undertaker pause. "Claude Faustus, you say?"

Now that sounded promising. Ciel leaned forward in his seat a little. "Do you know him?"

"I've heard of him," Undertaker said vaguely. Ciel didn't have time for that kind of game.

"What do you know?"

The smile returned to the man's face. "Ah, I'm sure that nothing I know will help you any further with this case."

"But you know something," Ciel said. He gestured at Sebastian who caught on immediately. "Please don't make us do it the hard way."

"The hard way…?" Undertaker must be lifting an eyebrow now. "What if I enjoyed that?"

Ciel made a disgusted noise and Sebastian merely blinked. "But," Undertaker continued, holding up one hand, "I can tell you this: Going from your father, there is a certain kind of person that fits Claude's preferences. I do not know the man personally, nor do I wish to. Vincent told me enough about him."

Ciel was silent for a moment, letting the information sink in. Then he got up. "Thank you for your time."

"Thank you for coming," Undertaker replied, showing them to the door. Outside, Ciel rang Bard to come and pick them up. The pathologist had been a disappointment. He knew much more than he was letting on. Perhaps if Ciel visited him alone once again? And what the man had said about Vincent…

"The thought is obvious, which could be why it didn't occur to me earlier," Sebastian said, breaking Ciel out of his thoughts. "We just need to find someone like Vincent."

"Then let's start with all the business sharks out there," Ciel muttered darkly.

Sebastian either chose to ignore this or didn't know what to reply. "Undertaker said he was greedy. It wouldn't be wrong to describe Claude as the embodiment of greed. Of course he would look for people like your father."

"Vincent," Ciel interjected, looking at the floor.

"… Pardon?"

"Just…" Ciel gritted his teeth. "Just Vincent."

There was a moment of silence, in which Bard brought the car. Sebastian opened the door for the boy this time, but Ciel didn't really acknowledge it. When they were inside, Sebastian fumbled around until he found the button for the privacy screen.

"There are a few people we could investigate," Ciel finally said. He'd have to find somebody to do that for him. Vincent Phantomhive had also filled several notebooks on with cases and remarks about different people. Ciel had not seen the small pile since his father's death. Maybe Claude had taken them with him?

"We cannot wait for Claude to come to us, because he never would," Sebastian said. "For all we know, he could be in Seoul right now. Or New York City."

Ciel thought about that for a moment. "We cannot afford to wait for him to come to us, but we can wait for him to make a mistake."

That certainly seemed to get Sebastian's attention. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Ciel smirked. "You'll see."

* * *

_Undertaker will always have at least one appeareance in my fics. I love writing that guy! On another note, don't forget your reviews! =D_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 9**

The antidote seemed to work and didn't seem to work at the same time. None of the staff knew where they were at when it came to their Mistress' health. Sieglinde stayed in bed, either because she didn't want to move or couldn't, and she made a point of chasing Sebastian around more than usual. Anne was almost always in the room with Sieglinde now, sometimes even lying on her bed and reading a book while the Mistress slept.

It was a chilly February day, and Sebastian had been once more summoned to Sieglinde's room.

"Ciel wants to borrow you," the girl said. Her voice was strong and she was sitting upright. She was gorging herself on fresh cupcakes made by the demon.

_Borrow_. Like Sebastian was some sort of toy. The demon wanted to click his tongue in disapproval. "Does he?"

"You are allowed to go," the girl said between bites. At least she had her healthy appetite back. "Do whatever he wants you to do."

"What if he wants to tie me up and torture me?" Sebastian asked with a smirk tugging at his lips.

Sieglinde snorted. "Then you'll let him. Duh. Now leave."

Sometimes they got along. Once a year, maybe.

Sebastian didn't take the car to go to the Phantomhive manor. He was faster without, actually. Within two minutes after having left the townhouse he rang the bell to Ciel's residence. A maid with thick glasses opened the door and let him in.

"Sebastian," Ciel called. "You came." The boy descended the stairs, looking regal.

Sebastian gave a small bow and smiled. "You called."

"I've been meaning to talk to you," the boy said. "But my relatives are leaving. If you would be so kind to assist them with their luggage. That would be nice of you."

Sebastian blinked. Was Ciel joking? He'd been called here to _carry_ _bags_?

As if to prove a point the Phantomhive chauffeur came down the stairs loaded with suitcases and various bags that he dropped right in front of Sebastian's feet before going up again. Sebastian stared at them. How many people had been living here?

Two, it turned out. Two blondes. One of them was stern-looking, and the other one, most likely the daughter, dressed herself in ruffles and lace. The mother spotted Sebastian and the suitcases by his feet. "You look indecent," she said with disdain.

Sebastian blinked at her. "Ma'am?"

"Are you a butler or a top model? This isn't a catwalk. Clean up or go home."

"Aunt Frances," Ciel said in a hushed voice that Sebastian could still hear with his superior hearing. "Sebastian is merely borrowed. He's the Sullivan butler."

"Why would we borrow butlers?" Frances asked.

"He's actually here for business."

"Then he should talk to me. After he makes himself look presentable."

"It doesn't concern the company," Ciel said testily. He turned to Sebastian. "Are you going to help us here or not?"

Sebastian refrained from grumbling and did what he had been told to. Once the car that would take away Ciel's aunt and cousin was loaded to the brim with the various bags, Sebastian held the door open for the woman and the girl. They climbed into the backseat with a small thank you for the help. Ciel remained by the main door, arms crossed in front of his chest.

When the car drove away, the girl loudly shouted her goodbyes, waving frantically. Ciel's expression only grew more closed at that. Sebastian turned towards the boy, interested in his expressions. Behind Sebastian, the car reached the gates and turned left. Only then did Ciel's gaze fall on the demon. They looked at each other in silence, until Ciel's chest sunk slowly with a careful exhale. Then he went back into the mansion.

"They don't live here?" Sebastian asked as they climbed up the stairs.

"Of course not," Ciel replied testily.

Sebastian thought about that until they entered the study. Ciel still seemed unhappy with it. His father's life was etched into it. Sebastian doubted it could ever become Ciel's study. "I reckon this house will be empty with your relatives gone."

Ciel sat down behind the desk. "They both distracted me from my work."

Sebastian didn't take a seat but came to a stand next to the chair in front of the desk. Not because the boy hadn't told him to sit, but because he liked to think that it irked the boy to have to look up to meet his eyes. "I heard that humans are in need of company, lest they become lonely-…"

"I did not call you here to get on my nerves," Ciel said. Sebastian knew he'd hit a sore spot.

"So you do get lonely."

There was silence as Ciel looked up at him. He had the most brilliantly blue eyes. Sebastian took pleasure in staring back, seeing the fury behind them. But instead of letting that fury out, the boy broke the gaze and gestured at the chair with much dignity. "Sit, please."

Sebastian stared at the chair now, masking the mild surprise. The boy wasn't going to take the bait. "I'd rather stand, thank you."

Ciel drew in a deep breath. "You are going to sit down. This is my house and you are nothing but a creature acting like human. Within these walls you are to obey my rules."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Oh, my. Aren't we brave…"

"I'd like to call it 'in control'," Ciel said. His eyes widened for less than a second as he realized his misstep.

"In control?" Sebastian repeated, allowing a slow smirk to grace his lips. "Do you like being _in control_, Ciel?"

"It's Lord Phantomhive to you," Ciel protested half-heartedly.

"Holding the reins over something like me?" Sebastian went on. He stepped forward until the tips of his feet brushed against the antique desk. Supporting his weight with only his fingertips on the desk's surface he leaned forward, closing a large part of the distance between himself and Ciel, who was resting his elbows on the desk. The boy's whole body tensed, his heart practically racing. He looked like he wanted to lean back. Sebastian almost found it admirable that he didn't. Lowering his voice he went on: "Would you like me to be your weapon?"

Ciel's eyes darkened. Sebastian allowed himself to let his true nature shine through his eyes. The boy wanted power. Sebastian was power.

"I could dismantle all your enemies, rip them apart at your order. You would have… total… control over me. And I would offer myself to you."

"I suppose I'd have to agree to a contract for that," Ciel murmured. He looked a little flustered and sounded a tad husky. Sometimes humans were too easy to excite.

Just when Sebastian wanted to go on, the boy pushed himself away from the desk and got up. He went to the other side of the room, tearing himself away from the trance that Sebastian had been trying to put over him. Said demon remained leaned over the desk, staring at the now empty seat in front of him.

This should not have happened.

"I am not interested in your offers," Ciel said. "As I have told you before. I ask you not to try it again."

Sebastian slowly lifted his head to look at the very composed boy on the other side of the room. Ciel stared back self-confidently.

"I understand that it's a demon thing to try and tempt everyone around you, but you will not tempt me. I have goals in my life that I need to reach. I will not be distracted by people like you."

_People_, he'd said.

"Sit," the boy ordered. "Do not make me ask you again."

Sebastian, completely – embarrassingly - stunned, took a seat.

A beat of silence passed until Ciel moved back behind the desk and gracefully sat down. With every meeting he just got more interesting. Surely he had to be somewhat afraid of Sebastian, but he pushed it all aside to tell him off. It was ridiculous. It was frustrating. It was exhilarating that finally a human was smart enough not to let Sebastian be his demise. And a young teenage boy at that!

"What is it that you called me here for?" Sebastian finally asked.

"I found a 'greedy individual' that might help lure Claude to us," Ciel said.

"Oh?"

The boy nodded. "Aleister Chambers. If my father managed to attract Claude's attention, this man will, too. My father had him under surveillance for criminal activities. I asked Diedrich what for and found out that it had to do with human trafficking and drug dealing. There is also a brothel that he may or may not own. I heard it has everything even the sickest mind cannot imagine, which is why the whole place would be shut down if the police were to ever find it. He may or may not be associated with Lau. That makes it easier. We know Lau, too."

Sebastian frowned. "You want to use this man as a bait?"

"He is the best option I know." Ciel pouted. "Of course I could take a look at other people for there certainly are many that would fit the criteria…"

"How do we use the Viscount?"

"Uncle Klaus knows Lau," Ciel explained. "Basically Lau is going to make Aleister's underground business flourish."

"Success will wake the desire for more," Sebastian concluded.

"In the ideal case."

"What if it doesn't?"

The boy looked at him oddly. "My plans do not fail."

"Your plans haven't involved a demon so far," Sebastian replied. "Unless there is something you failed to mention?"

Ciel merely sighed exasperatedly.

"In any case, the plan sounds solid. I assume we cannot do anything but wait. If Aleister's vice is great enough, he will eventually call on creatures like Claude unintentionally."

"Exactly. I want you to check on Chambers once in a while; just in case Claude has bit on already."

"Of course," Sebastian said with a nod. He had hoped for more excitement, but there was little one could do when the vice had to come from the bait itself.

Ciel opened his mouth, most likely to dismiss Sebastian, when somebody knocked on the door. The boy looked at the door contemplatively before allowing whoever was standing outside to come in.

The old Phantomhive butler Tanaka entered the study, carrying a white and black envelope in one hand. "Your mother's friend Irene Diaz has passed away. You have been invited to the funeral."

Perplexed, Ciel accepted the envelope and opened it right away. "Do we know anything about the cause of death?"

The butler shot Sebastian a look. "Well, it seems that she bore similar characteristics to other recent deaths when she was found."

"Grey veins, white eyes?" Ciel asked.

"Exactly, young master."

The boy nodded and thanked Tanaka, who left silently. Ciel looked at the card inside the envelope and sighed. "I had planned to ask her about my mother. Nobody knew Rachel as well as she did… You know, with Aunt Anne dead."

"You realize that this is a demon's work?" Sebastian prodded. It only earned him an irritated look from Ciel. Of course the boy knew.

"I just want to know if it's Claude's work," Ciel said, putting the card down.

"It could be any demon's work," Sebastian said. "It depends on the victim."

Ciel merely nodded. "Irene didn't strike me as somebody to form a contract with a demon."

"Many people don't." Sebastian contemplated adding the following bit before deciding that it was best the boy knew: "Sometimes there are no contracts."

This certainly caught Ciel's attention. "So there are demons that just take somebody's soul? Without a contract?"

While only the most uncivilized of demons did that, they were many. Sebastian himself had once simply gone up to a human and had proceeded to rip the soul out. However, the demon had quickly noticed that he had less trouble with reapers over a soul if he contracted it. He still had to avoid them lest they attack, but the souls marked as his had never been a point of conflict again. "They are wild creatures, so I ask you to be careful, Ciel."

The boy scowled heavily at him. "Do not ask me to be careful. _Ensure_ my safety."

Sebastian tried to reply immediately, but he found himself mute. He was quick to cover it up; Ciel probably hadn't seen his surprise. "That is a lot to ask for, considering that you aren't contracted to me."

"It is not," Ciel shot back. "I am sure that you will receive an order if I approach your mistress with this concern." He leaned back in his seat. "You as my bodyguard would be very practical. I have well-trained staff, but none of them possesses supernatural abilities."

So that's what this was about. "What do I get in return?" Sebastian asked.

"What do you want?"

Honestly, he hadn't expected so much liberty in choosing. "Only your wonderful presence."

Finally, Ciel seemed thrown off. "I assume you're being sarcastic."

"I might have overdone it at the 'wonderful' part," Sebastian amended with a grin.

"Protecting me includes being around me," Ciel said slowly. "You're basically rejecting the offer of getting something in return. And you asked for it."

Sebastian shrugged. "I was merely curious if you would allow it. I am not interested in an exchange that doesn't include souls."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "We are done here. Run off to your Mistress." Maybe it had been supposed to come out of the boy's mouth rougher than it ended up sounding.

With an amused glint in his eyes the demon got up and, after a deep bow, left the study.


End file.
